Eternity
by Rio1
Summary: A bit dark in places: deals with some issues that are a bit.... erm... not suitable for the kiddies. BTW, it's a Takari fic
1. Default Chapter

Eternity and a Day - Part one  
  
Tk sat with his guitar upon hin knee until it turned purple. Determind to follow in his elder brothers footsteps, he had taken up guitar, but try as he may, he couldn't compare to Matt's skills on the instrument; nor Matt's skills at writting the songs. But things hadn't always been that way. Tk used to be able to write the most incredible songs, some which his brother's band had occasionally performed with great sucess. But everything changed. Tk's muse, his inspiration, his genius had fallen. His kari Kamiya had fallen into a coma from a deadly attack in the digiworld, but for some reason, had been protected from the full affect of the blow. Since that day, Tk's gift had evaporated, waiting to reappear on the day that Kari would be by his side again. Unfortunatly, like many other things in the digiworld, there was a prophecy, and until it was fulfilled, Kari would remain in the coma. The trouble was, this prophecy had been turned into cryptic clues by the evil devimon, and seemed virtually impossible to decipher. Even Izzy and Yolie's brain power working together couldn't work out what the clues ment.   
  
TK sighed, and put down his guitar. He wasn't going anywhere, so he thought he should at least put some effort into something useful. He picked up the copy of the prophecy Izzy had printed out for him.  
Darkness will appear where light fails to shine.............  
Hope and light will be confronted with despair.......  
Despair and Darkness will join forcess when Hope fades.......  
Rebirth of light will trigger the rebirth of Hope..........  
The conjunction of Hope and Light will judge despair and darkness......  
Despair will be torn down with the forces; darkness shall be spared.......  
Hope, combined with love, shall overcome darkness with the power of the Light......  
TK was sure that the last part had something to do with him, Yolei, Sora and Kari, but that answer seemed to simple. However, it was the best answer he could think of, so he thought he should at least try it. He was about to reach for the phone to call Sora, but then he stopped. He realised he had no clue what the darkness was. It was obviously something evil, but he couldn't work out what. The first answer that came to mind was Devimon, but again, that was too simple. Tk sat back down and started racking his brain for answers, but nothing came to him. He became infuriated with himself. He couldn't even think of a way to help his best friend, and the one he loved. Since the time when Kari had gone into the coma, Tk had become a 'cutter' as a way of self punishment when he got impatiant with himself. He would normally inflict the pain on his feet, so people wouldn't notice the damage, and if they did, Tk could think of an excuse such as stepping on some glass while not wearing shoes outside. Tk took the chef's knife out of his bedside drawer (which he had kept in there since his run in with a murdererous psyco), brought his foot to his knee, clenched hard, then slowly ripped his foot's skin. Tears started forming in his eyes as beads of blood started to ooze from his foot. Tk shook his moment of pain out of his head, and reached for the plasters. He thrust one upon the injury and tried to ignore the growing pain in his foot. He got up, limped over to his bed and lay down. He could think about things some more in the morning.  
  
*  
  
The next morning, Tk was woken by the sun washing over his bed from the crack in his curtains. Normally, he would have tried to ignore the light, but this morning was different. He got straight out of bed, had breakfast and got dressed. He picked up his guitar in it's case and slung it over his shoulder. He picked up his bus pass and left the house before his mum woke up. He set out from the appartment to the bus stop, where he sat and waited. He would've walked, but his tender foot was sore from the night before. Finally, the bus arrived, and Tk got on, flashed his pass, and sat down in the front seat. He looked out the window at the houses flashing by. The town seemed a bit empty since Kari wasn't always wandering round the place. There didn't seem to be any place worth going, and no-one worth knowing. Then the bus stopped suddenly, jerking Tk forward violently.  
"Yo kid! This your stop?" the bus driver asked.  
"Yeah. Thanks." Tk said shortly, then got out of the bus, and watched it chug noisly down the street. Then he turned around to face the hospital. It hadn't changed one bit since Tk had first visited Kari a few months ago. He shook the memory out of his head and walked into the electronic doors. He knew his way round the hospital fairly well now, and had memorised the visiting times. He walked up to the elevator, pushed the button, and lent against the wall thinking. Not about anything in particular. Just...... stuff. A faint ping anounced the arrival of the elavator, and Tk picked up his guitar and walked into the empty elavator. He pushed the button marked '7', and tried to pick up on his train of thought. Just as he remembered what he was thinking about, the elevator stopped once more at level 7. The doors slid open, and Tk walked out with his guitar, straight down the corridor to room 305. He took a deep breath, and opened the door and walked in, only to find three nurses and an old woman lying in Kari's bed.  
"Hey...... what happened to Kari?" Tk asked one of the nurses.  
"You mean the girl who was in this room?" she asked.  
"Yeah..... where is she? Did she wake up?" He asked excitedly. He knew that the chances of that were slim to none, but knowing the things that went on in the digiworld, anything was possible.  
"Unfortunatly not. Her conditioned worsened overnight. She is now in a critical condition and has been moved to a different ward." The nurse said sadly.  
"What? Where is she? Is she alright? Where can I see her? When can I see her?" Tk said all very fast.   
"She has been moved to ward 229 in the left wing of the building, but I must warn you......"  
Tk didn't stay to hear the end of her sentence. He bolted out the door, running - almost flying - down the corridor. He ran down flights of stairs, and across pretty much the whole hospital, till he finally reached room 229. He pushed the door open to find several doctors frantically moving around, yelling out orders to eachother in big complex sentences that Tk found impossible to comprehend. It was all very dramatic - very similar to how he had often watched on television dramas. He grabbed a doctor rushing past.  
"What's going on?" He asked, his eyes darting about the room, checking out what all the other doctors were doing.   
"We're not quite sure yet. She was fine yesturday, but last night, her heart rate suddenly dropped, and....." TK cut the doctor off.  
"But she's gonna be alright, isn't she" TK asked, trying to stay calm. There seemed to be a slight touch of insanity in his voice.  
"We don't know, okay, and at the present moment the best thing you can do is stay out of the way!" The doctor was getting impatient. He herded Tk out of the room, then slammed the door before Tk could get back into the room. Tk turned away from the door, then remembered he'd forgotten about his guitar; he had left it back at room 305. He swore loudly. He desperatly wanted to go back for his guitar, but he found going back useless: he couldn't bare to leave Kari. After a few moments debate within his head, he decided that Kari was more important than his guitar, and sat himself down on one of the chairs outside her door.  
  
*  
  
Tk glanced at his watch. Midnight. He had only just woken up, and the reality of the situation started to dawn on him. One, his mom had no clue where he was. Knowing her, the police are probably searching the lake in the pond for my mangled body, Tk thought bitterly. Two, Kari was in a critacle condition. Three, he didn't know where his guitar was. Things didn't seem to be going his way at the moment. He stood up, and wrapped his had around the door handle to Kari's room. He couldn't hear the frantic voices anymore, so he pushed the door open. Inside, the doctors were still there, and seemed to be having a rather heated conversation, but keeping their voices low. All their heads turned as the door creaked open.   
"Er...... is Kari alright?" Tk asked quietly. He didn't know if he should even be in the room.  
"Listen, er, kid, we're not sure yet..... look, could you give us a couple of minutes?" One of the doctors asked.  
"Sure......" Tk said slowely, then backed out of the door. He decided that with his few minutes, he should ring the digidestined and his mom and get his guitar. The pay phone was closer to him than Kari's old room, so he went there first. He pulled some small change out of his pocket and deposited some into the machine, then dialed his home's number.  
"Hi, you have reached the Takashi residence." The answering machine was kicking in. "Unfortunatly, we are unable to take your call right now, but please leave your name, number and message after the beep. We will get back to you as soon as we can."  
"Hey, mom, it's Tk. I'm at the hospital right now so don't panic, and I don't know when I'll be home because Kari's condition has worsened, 'kay? Bye" Tk said as he hung up the phone. He pulled some more small change out of his pocket and shoved it in the machine, upon which he dialed Matt. After three rings, Matt picked up, sounding very disgruntled.  
"Hello?" Matt said groggily.  
"Hey,Matt, it's Tk, and........." Tk was cut off short by Matt.  
"Tk, how many times have I told you not to call me after ten thirty? You know I need sleep from my concerts, and besides, you see me almost every day, so why can't you just....."  
"I'M AT THE HOSPITAL!" Tk yelled over Matt's ramblings.  
"What? Oh, Tk, what have you done now? Have you broken your arm again or something?"  
"No, Matt, It's Kari. She got worse overnight and is in a different ward."  
"So? You didn't need to wake me up for that!"  
"Matt, you don't seem to understand me. SHE IS IN A LIFE-THREATNING SITUATION."  
"So? She's been in a life-threatning situation every day that we've been in the digiworld. I mean, think about it. If they said she wasnÕt gonna make it, and she made it, I think sheÕll be fine. SheÕs a fighter from the beginning. All this toughning up has done her good. I mean, it says that there is a rebrith of light, which pretty much has to mean she will either wake up or come back to life. Just stop worrying. I'll tell the others the news in the morning. Now can I please get some sleep?"  
"I suppose you're right. G'night." Tk sighed, then hung up the phone. He knew he was taking this a little too far. He sighed again, a little more heavily this time, then started to head off in the direction of ward 305 to pick up his beloved guitar. On his way, he thought about the prophecy once again, and realised he was being foolish. Kari had too be alright, because the last part of the prophecy said that the power of Hope would use the Power of Light. And as Tk had learned once in the digiworld from a demon that had escaped form the underworld to the digiworld called Abaddon, the power of light dies when the keeper of light dies. As Kari was the keeper of the light, she had to be alright. Or at least, she had to be alright for the moment.......  
Tk reached room 305, only to find his guitar - and anyone who wasn't asleep or unable to move - gone. Tk swore again, his course language echoing throughout the seemingly dead building. He could feel what felt like endless rage building up inside him, waiting for him to let it out. But from his years in the digiworld, Tk had learned incredible self dicipline, an almost un-human like ability to hold anger inside, and only let it out one minute modicum at a time. He had been taught from the age of eight when he first came to the digiworld that anger is only one letter short of danger - he had seen numerous times how his older brother and Kari's older brother fights could lead then into trouble in ways that the human mind could never even imagined until they had experienced it for themselves. Thus Tk held his toung before he said something he would probably regret for the rest of his life, turned around, and headed back for ward 229, where unless it really wasn't his day, Kari would still be. But, when Tk reached the room and opened the door, the solem faced doctors didn't do much for his confidence in Kari's recovery.  
"Er.... Is something wrong?" Tk asked. He needed reasuring that Kari was going to survive.  
"We have been discussing this for a few days now, and we have come to the dicission to unplug Kari's life support." One of the doctors said.  
"What? You can't do that!" Tk yelled. He waas no longer concerened about sleeping patients in the surrounding wards. His anger was no longer irripressible. He could feel it, but in no means did he try to stop it.  
"I'm sorry boy, but if Kari was going to recover, she would have done it months ago. She is at deaths door, and we won't be able to keep her alive much longer. We will do it in a week to give her one last chance to wake up. If she doesn't, I'm very sorry." The doctor spoke in a very grave voice, a voice that was almost telling Tk that Kari was going to die no matter what.  
"But.... but..... you can't......" Tk was desperatly trying to think of a reason that would prevent the doctors from taking Kari's life. Then he clicked.  
"Her family!" He yelled triumphantly. "Her family will never let you do this!" The doctor turned round, his face bearing a poor attempt at a comforting face.  
"We asked her family a while ago that if she didn't wake up we could unplug her. They said we should do wahtever we have to do to prevent meaningless suffering." Tk couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
"Tai agreed to that? Yeah, right." Tk snorted.  
"Her older brother Taichi? Yes, he was against it at first, but he said that Kari wouldn't want him to put her through irrational afflictions."  
Tk couldn't believe what he was hearing. He would have cried - but things were spinning through his head too fast. He started to back away from the doctors, away from his worst nightmare.  
"No.... you can't..... I...... I won't let you!" Tk cried, then turned and ran out of the room, down the empty, cold, lifeless corridors of the brutal hospital. He tried to run from the horrible reality of the situation, but all his emotional baggage went with him. He no longer cared about the distance between his house and the hospital, or the growing pains in his foot - he was in no mood to wait for a bus. Tears began to pool in his eyes as he started to realise the harsh truth of the matter. But behind his sorrow, his anger continued to grow. The anger at the fact that Tai had hidden the truth from him for so long, the anger that everyone except himself had given up. He picked up his already incredibly fast pace to get home before anything else could go wrong, before he his boundless rage consumed the rest of his already emotionaly damaged mind.  
  
*  
  
Tk stirred the pasta feverently, trying to direct his rage to what was meant to be his dinner - but was now something for Tk to release his incredible anger. His mother wasn't home yet- God knows what she's doing at this time of the night, Tk thought as an attempt to concentrate on something else. Moments later, he slammed his hands down on the counter in frustration. Why must this happen now? he thought. He could feel the tears prickling behind his eyes once more, when the phone rung. He sucked in some air, breathed out, then picked up the phone.  
"Hello?" Tk said, trying his hardest not to brake down.  
"Hey, Tk? It's Izzy. Look, Matt called me with a brakethrough!"  
"Izzy, unless it's a way to cure Kari, I'm not very interested at the moment."  
"But it's better than curing Kari! Listen, Matt called to tell me the news about Kari. At the time I happend to have a copy of the prophecy on hand, and whilst scanning over it once more, I realised that we have missed a clue. I think...... I think that Kari's condition worsening has something to do with the prophecy. I think that this is the second part of the prophecy......... which would mean that we missed the first part of the prophecy, which means we don't know what the darkness is, but it doesn't matter because the prophecy will happen anyway, but........"   
"IZZY! SHUT UP! I'M NOT IN THE MOOD!" Tk yelled into the phone, before slamming it down on the hook. He hadn't meant to be so rude to Izzy, one of his closest friends, but things simply weren't allowing for mindless activities. And besides, what's the point? She's going to die anyway.... Tk quickly stopped thinking. He was starting to realise the bitter truth, and although he loathed to admit it, he was beginning to believe it. Tk was not the sort of person to lose hope - he had been through much worse situations in the digiworld - but for some reason, this was different. Tk picked up the saucepan full of boiling water and pasta and tossed it down the sink. The pasta was too thick to go down the drain, but Tk had never been a perfectionist. He walked into his room and sat down on his bed. All of his remaining hope seemed to have gone down the drain with the boiling liquid in which the pasta had soaked. It's too late. Kari will never wake up. She's going to die, and I can't do anything about it. Tk didn't bother to stop the thoughts drifting through his head. He didn't even try to banish the thoughts. He could no longer hide the truth from himself, and he was too tired and too shocked to do anything about it. He barely knew that he was pulling the knife from his top draw, nor that he placed it on his wrist until a moment before it happened, his last chance to pull out, but Tk couldn't feel any soul inside him while Kari was how she was. He braced himself, then, in one swift movement, slit his wrists so deep that a pain worse than he could ever imagine filled his body before he blacked out. He never felt himself hit the floor.  
  
*  
  
"Kari?" Tk asked. He had no idea where he was - or how he got there - but he could see a light that he had seen emerge form Kari's body when they had been battling the Abaddon in the digiworld. A figure suddenly materialised from the light. It smiled at him.  
  
"Yes Tk. It's me. I'd hoped you wouldn't end up coming here because of me, but I see it is too late." Kari said sadly.   
  
"Why? Now I can be with you. I never want to leave here." Tk said. The light the illuminated Kari's pale face ws radiating with a warmth that he had longed to feel - it seemed to be the feeling of love.  
  
"No Tk. We are in an empty nothingness called 'Limbo'. Zen masters once dreamed of coming here, but as you can see, it's not much to look forward too. But Tk, as something you must understand, you can not always take the easy way out of things. As much as I want to be with you, I took the blow in the digiworld to save your life. I don't want that to be in vain. I don't want to look down upon a newspaper and see the headline: MODERN ROMEO AND JULIET TRAGIC REALITY. Tk, I will be fine wherever I will go, whether it's Heaven or earth. But I could never live with the guilt of knowing it was my fault you took your life."  
  
"But aren't I dead? Aren't I in the afterlife?" Tk asked, confused. Kari gave him a comforting smile.  
  
"Fortunatly, no. We are in a place where you come when you aren't dead, but aren't alive. You will wake up soon, and please, don't lose hope. I can take care of myself, and I wish that you can please trust me enough to have faith in yourself. The digidestined team can't afford two losses."  
  
"But Kari..... you'll be alright..... won't you?" Tk asked nervously. He didn't think that he could handle any more pain at the moment.  
  
"I'll be fine. I was brought here by Blaze, the angel of life, who used her last strength to try and save me. I used some of my strength to bring you here so you wouldn't pass on. Soon, I will send you back to your body, then try to regain the strength I need to return to my body." Tk cursed himself at these words. (A/N: Blaze, I know you read my stories and don't review. Georgia saw you! So you in my story is your insentive to review, GODAMIT!)  
  
"Tk, it's alright. I only lost a bit of strength. It won't stop my recovery or make it any slower. When the gods feel the time is right for me to go back, they will send me back. If they feel my time has come, they will bring me too them. I have no power in this. Tk, just remember, be brave. I will be with you at all times. Just don't lose hope. I'm sure I'll join you again as Blaze was made a god because of her ultimate sacrifice. I'm sure she will send me back to you. But whatever her disicion is, I respect it, and I'm sure it's the right one. I hope you realise that too and accept the facts whatever they may be. Goodbye, Tk............"  
  
*  
  
Tk's eyes slowely lifted. He was feeling exceptionally groggy. His surounding were swirling around him violently, and his head was protesting against the damage that he had been inflicted upon it. But all this quickly floated to the back of Tk's mind as he remembered his reverie. He suddenly sat bolt upright, and looked around. He was no longer in his room, but a ward that was painted pale green. His brother was asleep on a chair in the corner, and several tubes were sticking out of his arm. He looked at his wrist, where it looked like stiches had been put in. Tk bit his lip nervously, then pulled the tubes out of his arm and got out of the bed and crept over to his brother.   
"Matt.... Psst!! Matt, wake up!" Tk whispered, gently shaking his brother. Matt let out a small grunt, right before his eyes snapped open.  
"TK!" He cried, before tightly embracing his brother, tears pooling in his eyes. "Tk, I'm so sorry, I should've been more supportive, but I thought you could handle this, I never thought you felt this deeply about it, I'm sooooo sorry." Matt whispered in Tk's ear. Matt had lost too much in his life too lose Tk as well.   
"Matt, look, it's got nothing to do with you, but please let me go, I've got to get out of here." This confused Matt a bit.  
"What? Tk, you have to stay here!"  
"No, Matt, I need to see Kari. I.... I spoke to her." Tk said, hoping Matt wouldn't consider this too stupid. Matt merely gave him a confused look.  
"I know it sounds crazy, but she saved me. We.... we in a place called 'Limbo'. She said...... she said that the only reason she is okay is because a girl called Blaze saved her......"  
"Blaze? You mean the angel of life Blaze?"  
"Yeah... who is she?"  
"You wouldn't know her. You weren't with us when we met her. She saved us by taking on the Abaddon so we could get away safely.... we never saw her again...."  
"Well, it's cause she was in Limbo, and used her last energy to save Kari. Whoever she was, she's gone." Matt looked a little sad at those words.  
"But Matt, the point is, I need to find Kari and speak to her. I realised that, even in another world, she can still hear me. Matt, Kari spoke to me, and told me not to lose hope. I trust her. I believe that she is always with me. She has to be. It's hard to explain, but I can do it. I will face any evil with Kari by my side. I know I can win. I will take any evil on anywhere, any time with Kari by my side. This was real. I didn't imagine anything. Matt, Kari is very much alive, and I know for a fact that she will be alright. Now I need her to realise the same thing."  
Matt normally would have interjected; pointed out that Tk was ill and needed rest, but he noticed something in Tk's eyes that seemed to make everything okay, a sort of sign telling Matt that he needed to do this. Matt thought about it for about a third of a second.  
"Alright.... but I don't know how we're going to get past all the doctors....."   
Tk grinned.  
  
*  
Okay, whatcha think? I've got no idea how I'm gonna end this, but I'll find a way sooner or later. Please review now, cause I need to get some ideas how to write part two. Email comments to: rio_blaze_dione@hotmail.com  
Thanks!  
From Rio 


	2. Eternity Part 2

Eternity and a day - Part two  
  
"Okay Matt, don't forget to look grave when you're walking" Tk muttered from underneath the white sheet.  
"Yeah, I get the point. Now don't move, or someone might get suspicious!" Matt muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Tk was lying on a stretcher bed with a white cloth pulled over him, to make him look very convincingly dead. Matt, however, was dressed in a white coat, posing as a doctor. He had found it hanging in a cupboard near Tk's room, and it was proving to be very useful. Matt took a deep breath, pasted a severe look upon his face (even though he could feel a laugh creeping up inside him), and started pushing the stretcher down the hallway. He wouldn't have thought it at the time, but he was passing for a doctor very easily. People in the corridors had worried looking faces as Matt wheeled Tk through the hospital, trying to reach Kari's ward without being forced to use stairs. Suddenly, a voice made Matt's blood run cold.  
"Matt, what are you doing...........?" His mothers voice rang from behind him. People in the hallways truned and looked at the suddenly frozen Matt.  
"Matt, run!" Tk whispered from under the white material. "Quick, just run!"  
"Er.... er....." Matt begun arkwardly. Then, without thinking, started running, pushing the heavy stretcher as fast as he could.  
"Matt, hurry!" Tk urged.  
"I'm trying! This thing is too heavy....." Matt muttered, starting too pant. People in the hospital became more and more suspicious of him, but didn't seem to make any attempt to stop them.   
"Alright, on the count of three, let go of the stretcher, Okay?" Tk said. Matt looked very confused.  
"But Tk....."  
"One...."  
"But seriously, you can't....."  
"Two......."  
"Tk, what are you going to do.."  
"THREE!" Tk yelled, and as commanded, Matt let go of the stretcher. What Tk failed to tell Matt, however, was what he was planning to do. He jumped out from the stretcher, and started running along with Matt. Gasps and strange looks were coming from all watching as the pair started running away from thier poses.   
"Not every day you see a doctor run off with a dead body that's just come to life, hey?" Tk heard one of the onlookers comment. He couldn't help but smirk at this. Despite the unreal situation he was in, he had always had an incredible sense of humour. He continued running, until finally, he and Matt reached ward 229, where Tk grabbed Matt and pulled him inside the small room. He slammed the door behind them, and quickly turned the lock on the door. He turned, to face Kari, and luckily for him, no doctors or family.  
"Kari..." he murmered sadly, remembering talking to her in his reverie, and now seeing her motionless, confined to a hospital bed. Matt walked to the corner of the room.  
"Just say what ya gotta say, Tk. I won't listen" Matt told Tk, then sat down on the small plastic chair. Tk sighed, then walked over to Kari's bed, where he sat down on the chair he had pulled up before, and took Kari's hand.  
"Hey Kari. Er... it's me, Tk, just in case you didn't know." Tk felt stupid, but he continued. "Look, Kari, I know you will survive this. You have to. I mean, you can go anywhere and do anything you want. You can be anything you want to be. Your life has many surprises waiting in it for you, and the digidestined would miss you.... I would miss you..... Kari, I hope you can hear this, because I know that you will be okay. I need you to know it too, because otherwise, you might not make it. But you are strong, and I'm sure that you will be able to come back. Kari, I don't think I could continue without you. I used to think that you would not make it, and look where it got me. I was filled with despair and was hopeless without you. You are my soul, and the digidestined group wouldn't be the same without you. We need your spirit and insight in the group. You are the keeper of Light, and you are stronger than any of the other digidestined. I know you will make it. And now you do too."  
Matt walked over to him and placed a hand on Tk's shoulder.  
"That was really good of you Tk. If you are right, and she did hear you, we don't have anything to worry about."  
"I hope you're right Matt. But I'm sure you are. Kari is alive, and she will always with me. I have no despair anymore. Nothing will stop her now. She'll be back with us within a month. I can sense it Matt, and I'm not going to fight this instinct."  
  
*  
  
Matt, Tk, Izzy, Yolei and Tai gathered around Matt's living room table. It had been two days since Tk's had woken up, and unfortunatly, only four days till the hospital unhooked Kari from life support. They had been discussing the prophecy, and how to solve it so Kari would wake up.  
"Well, I think that we only need to work out what the darkness is, because the other parts of the prophecy make sence and seem to already have happened." Izzy said in a matter-of-factly voice. The others nodded an agreement.  
"But what could the darkness be? I don't think it's Devimon, that answer seems to simple." Tk said, referring back to his thoughts on the issue.  
"Yeah......." Yolei agreed. Suddenly, a random, curious thought drifted across her memory.... something she had once heard in the digiworld....... The brighter the light, the deeper the Darkness......  
"Guys, do think that this has anything to do with digimon at all? I mean, I think it might be inside one of us." Yolei said, waiting for the groups responce. Four pairs of eyes merely glanced blankly at her.  
"I mean, once in the digiworld I was told that the brighter the light the deeper the darkness, and I think that this might have something to do with it." Yolei elaborated. Tk felt surprisingly uneasy at this. It couldn't be my cutting, could it? A little voice in his head asked him.  
"Er.... guys, I think I might know what it is." Tk said softly. Matt turned to him.  
"Go ahead little bro, we're all ears." Matt said supportingly. Tk took a shaky breath.  
"A while ago, after Kari fell into a coma, I started.... cutting..... It seemed to be the only way I could get rid of my hatred...." Tk said uneasily.  
"Oh Tk......" Tai said. Tears welled in Tk's eyes.  
"Bro, that was the first step, and I'm sure that took guts, and we'll all help you get over this." Matt said, putting a comforting arm around his little brother. Tk bit his lip.  
"I was really scarred to tell you. I thought you wouldn't understand."  
"Tk, we understand. We just wish you had told us before it escalated to epic proportions." Izzy said, giving Tk a sypathetic look.  
"We'll all help you over this Tk. No-one, especially you, deserves to feel like they need to kill themselves."  
Yolei said, trying to be warm-hearted.Tk looked up at the four of them.  
"Thanks guys. I didn't think it would be this easy."  
"Tk, we'll be here for you. Any time you want to talk or cry or anything, call one of us and we'll listen. You don't have to take it out on yourself. You're going through a lot at the moment, so we will help you through all of this. Isn't that what friends are for anyway?" Tai asked. Tk nodded his head.  
"Yeah. And look on the bright side. If that is the darkness, Kari will wake up any day now." Izzy said, continuing on from Tai's little speech.  
"Guys, after that, I don't think I'll ever do something stupid like that again. I mean, I wouldn't want to lose a life with friends like you in it, would I?" Tk said.  
"Awww..... GROUP HUG!" Tai yelled happily, tightly embracing everyone. After a few moments, they all pulled away, grinning broadly at eachother.  
  
*  
  
Tk was back where he started. He had spent the past two days trying to deal with his problem, overcoming it obstacle by obstacle. He felt as though a wieght had been lifted off his soul, but dropped back on because Kari had not yet woken up. He had been using his brothers guitar to try to write more songs, but it failed once more. Once again, he took the bus to the hospital to visit Kari with a guitar, but this time, the guitar belonging to his brother. He made a mental note to himself not to forget about it. But Tk had a different motive for visiting Kari this time. His brother had organised a concert for his band on the day Kari would be unhooked from life support, a sort of dedication, and had agreed to let Tk sing one song at the end for Kari, and Tk needed to write a new song. Since this was for Kari, he thought the best place to write it would be by her side. After the bus trip and getting to KariÕs room, despite some doctors and nurses gave him odd looks from a few days before, he sat down next to Kari and pulled out the guitar and sat it on his lap, when a doctor came in.  
ÒUm, sorry kid, but sheÕs not gonna say anything to you. Are you sure you want to be with her?Ó He asked.  
ÒYeah.... I donÕt care if she doesnÕt want to speak to me..... just hearing her breathing is enough.....Ó The doctor nodded his head, then closed the door as he walked out. Wait...... thatÕs perfect! A voice in TkÕs head told him. Cause I want nothing more than sit outside heavens door and listen to you breathing....... It was all coming out perfectly. Tk pulled out a pad from his guitar case and started writting down ideas.  
  
*  
  
ÒYou all ready?Ó Matt asked Tk cautiously. Tk was about to go on stage, and to his horror, he would be singing a tribute to Kari at the exact moment her life support would be disconnected. He took a deep breath and walked on stage. He was well known for the songs of his that MattÕs band had performed, but he still didnÕt expect the huge crowd cheering for him. He walked up to the mic, and started to speak into it.  
ÒThis is dedicated to a very dear friend of mine.... I will never forget you, Kari.Ó  
Tk took a slight step back from the mic and started to sing.  
  
*  
  
KariÕs family gathered close to her bed and tried to swallow their tears. The doctor placed a trembling hand on the cord, and pulled it out of itÕs socket. KariÕs lifeline went dead, and her heartbeat stopped. Her family turned away from the horror that was becoming their worst nightmare come true.  
  
*  
  
ÒFinding my way back to sanity again  
Though I donÕt know what IÕm gonna do when I get there  
Take a breath and hold on tight spin around one more time and   
gracefully fall back to the arms of graceÓ  
  
*  
  
Tai couldnÕt move. He stared at the lifeless body that was his sister, and found it impossible to move. He didnÕt want to accept the truth. He so wanted his little sister back. Tears welled in his eyes, and finaly, he was able to move. Then, as he started to walk away as the rest of his family and the doctors had done, he heard a faint beep coming from the machine measuring her heartbeat. He turned and stared at it, watching to see if what he heard was real. Then another beep. He couldnÕt believe what he was seeing. Faster and faster, the machine was picking up more and more heartbeats, getting faster and faster. Tai tore his eyes away from the maching and onto his sister. His eyes widened as the impossible occured. She moved. Tai told himself. Then her arm started to twitch. Tai watched in awe as Kari started to move more and more. Then, as though she was being controlled by a puppet, Kari sat up in bed, climbed out, and her eyes snapped open. She smiled at Tai, then stared to walk out of the room, getting her suitcase, leaving Tai staring blankly behind her.  
  
*  
  
ÒCause I am hanging on every word you say and  
Even if you donÕt want to speak tonight  
ThatÕs alright, alright with me  
Cause I want nothing more  
than sit outside heavens door  
And listen to you breathing  
ItÕs where I wanna beÓ  
  
*  
  
Kari walked through the hospital to where she somehow knew she was meant to be going. She first went to the bathroom, and shut herself in a cubicle and got changed into something respectful. She then brushed her hair, and left her suitcase and left for where she instinctively knew she was meant to be.  
  
*  
  
"Looking past the shadown in my mind   
until the truth fell down  
trying to identify the voices in my head,  
God, which one's you?  
Let me feel one more time what it  
feels like to feel and  
break these calluses of of me  
one more time"  
  
*  
  
Kari finaly arrived at a huge concert, one which seemed to be absolutely packed with fans. She did not know why she thought to come there, but as she trusted herself, she made her way through the crowds, a guitar slung over her slender shoulder.  
  
*  
  
ÒCause I am hanging on every word you say and  
Even if you donÕt want to speak tonight  
ThatÕs alright, alright with me  
Cause I want nothing more  
than sit outside heavens door  
And listen to you breathing  
ItÕs where I wanna beÓ  
  
*  
  
Tk looked out into the crowd as he reached the main instrumental part of the song. He was looking for someone - anyone - who looked as though they could comfort him. Then, he saw a glimpse of what looked like Kari.... but it couldnÕt be, he told himself. He thought he was hallucinating, until he saw it again. Matt, who was peering out from behind the stage, seemed to see it too. He squinted hard, when he saw it again. Tk looked out to his brother, hoping to hear that he wasnÕt crazy. Matt gave him a look that didnÕt do much to help Tk: by the look Matt gave him, he was as confused as Tk was. But then, confirmation? A guitar, that looked oddly like TkÕs one, was slung over the girls shoulder. Without thinking, Tk jumped down from the stage, and stared parting through the crowd for the girl without success. He sighed, then made his way back to the stage, where he climbed back on, and waited for his cue to start singing again.   
  
*  
  
"I don't want a thing from you  
Bet you're tired of waiting for  
the scraps to fall  
of off your table to the ground  
Cause I just wanna be here now"  
  
*  
  
To say Tk was dissapointed was an understatement as he continued singing. He continued to search the crowds for Kari, even though he knew his chances of finding her were slim to none. But Kari seemed to know aboout Tk, and tried as hard as she could to battle her way through the crowds to the stage where she seemed to know she would find Tk.  
  
*  
  
ÒCause I am hanging on every word you say and  
Even if you donÕt want to speak tonight  
ThatÕs alright, alright with me  
Cause I want nothing more  
than sit outside heavens door  
And listen to you breathing  
ItÕs where I wanna beÓ  
  
*  
  
Tk had almost given up hope of ever seeing Kari again, when suddenly, he saw what had to be Kari in the front row. Although the girl was facing the other way, there was no mistaking that haselnut hair or that pale skin. Tk ran forward to the front of the stage, grabbed the girls hand, and pulled her up onto the stage. He looked into the girls eyes to see KariÕs warm eyes staring right back at him. All he could have ever asked for was coming true  
ÒHi Tk. I found this and thought you might want it backÓ Kari said, as though nothing had happened. Just the way things had been before. Tears prickled at the back of TkÕs eyes as he quickly embraced the girl. She returned the hug, then pulled away and handed Tk his guitar. They stood, staring at eachother for a few minutes before Kari spoke.  
ÒWell, you know what. IÕve been waiting to kiss you for a few months. It was real hard for me, and IÕm glad to be back. But promise you will never pretend to be dead again. That was really odd.Ó  
ÒHow did you know?Ó  
ÒIÕll always be with you Tk. By the way, Matt makes a pretty impressive doctor, I must admit.Ó Tk laughed. Kari smiled, then grabbed his collar and pulled him into a kiss that she and he had longed for.   
ÒIÕm not gonna leave your side for a long time, Tk. I donÕt think I could stand it. IÕm gonna be with you for eternity and a day.Ó  
  
*  
  
Okay, so whatcha think? Good or bad? Sorry that I didn't use anyone's ideas for an ending, but I couldn't wait to write part two. Please review or send comments to rio_blaze_dione@hotmail.com  
Thankz!  
  
From Rio 


End file.
